A few of Grace's Favorite Things

Grace has a fabulous belly. When she was 15 months old, we would frequently ask Grace to name her favorite part of her body. She would always chant "my belly."

There is one other thing that Gracie loves almost as much as her belly--MONEY. I was a little concerned when one early words was "money," shortly followed by "credit card." (Now she usually uses "card" for short.)

We're training Jacob for the circus

Jacob has always loved unicycles. He loves to spot unicycles on the bike trail by our house. Today we found an abandoned unicycle at Gas Works Park while flying our kite. He loves to draw pictures of himself on a unicycle too. Perhaps he'll be in the circus one day.

Wild Flowers

One of the things that I love about Grace is that she is so inquisitive. She constantly asks “what’s that.” And she doesn’t stop talking until she gets a response. Grace loves flowers. Jacob knows that Grace loves flowers, so he frequently picks up a dandelion for Grace. If I’m lucky, I get a dandelion too.

Run little duck, run...

Mommy, why is the duck running away? We just want to give him a snack.

Excuses for being late

I don’t want for very many things right now in my life. We’re all really happy and have pretty simple wishes, except one—a GARAGE. The idea of not parking “20 minutes” away from our house is the most appealing thing in the world to me. The ironic thing is that our car isn’t that far away, but you can’t believe the distractions that we find every time we go somewhere. For example, I never knew how fascinating rain drains were until I had kids. The only way that I can get anywhere on time is if I carry both Jacob and Grace to the car, which is getting challenging now that I have another one to tote.

This is a picture of Grace walking to our car in the parking lot. And yes, I am the one that has to carry all of their toys back into the house when they are too tired to do so upon our return. Ryan assures me that if we ever end up with a garage I will appreciate the joy of it so much more.

The tables have turned...

I don't know how we ended up in this situation, but now Gracie (age 10 months) is completely feeding herself and we are feeding Jacob (age 3).

Six teeth & counting!!

On Saturday, Ryan was in charge of a pediatric community dental clinic. While we were there, Gracie saw a pediatric dentist for the first time. She has six beautiful teeth. Dad is so proud!

Jacob is a "big boy" now!

We purchased a used bike for Jacob this week on “Craig’s list.” We paid $10 for the bike. Jacob seemed a little worried about a little tear on his “new bike.” He asked us if we accidentally hurt his new bike. We unveiled Jacob’s bike on Monday evening. He giggled when we pulled it out. Ryan rides a bike to school, so he feels big like Daddy.

Feed me!

Grace loves to eat. We have decided that we aren’t feeding her enough for two reasons: she is so small (only in the 20th percentile for her weight and the 70th percentile for her height) and she begs and devours food whenever she sees some.

Boys will be Boys

Jacob loved playing at Grandma Romney's house this week. Uncle Adam taught Jacob to “skateboard.” Jacob would design the stunts for Adam to jump over (ie; a tricycle and/ or a tractor).

Uncle Spencer & Aunt Brittany's Wedding

We traveled to Utah for Spencer & Brittany’s wedding. They were married in the Bountiful Temple on Thursday, October 5, 2006. Everything was beautiful! It was so wonderful to see everyone again.

Grace!

We went to one of Jacob's friend's birthday parties yesterday, and Grace discovered the piano. She could't get enough. Grace lights up when she smiles. She loves to wave at strangers now. If they wave back, she'll even give them a smile.

Jacob is 3!!

Jacob's birthday was fabulous. Ryan was able to spend part of the morning with us. Then, after school we went to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. Jacob couldn't have imagined a better treat!!! Jacob received so many thoughtful and wonderful gifts from family and friends. Grace seemed a little envious of Jacob during his present opening ceremony. In fact, we felt so bad for "little Grace" that we decided that she needed a Curious George monkey too. Jacob and Grace have spent all week caring for their monkeys. Jacob sleeps with both monkeys; but he knows that he must give Grace her monkey when she wakes up. Grace is starting to insist that she is part of this family too (food, toys, and attention)!!!

City Kids Visit the Farm!

Two of Jacob’s friends, Hannah and Mayah (twins) couldn’t make it to Jacob’s birthday party; so they (with their Mom’s sweet help) organized a special play date/party at Remlinger Farms (a farm/amusement park for kids). We had an amazing time. Coincidentally, Hannah and Mayah share Jacob’s birthday on August 15, 2006.

They had pony rides at the farm! Jacob loves ponies. In fact, a pony often visits him while he sleeps (a nice pony, of course). Intitially, the whole experience was a little frightening; but Jacob ended up making friends with "Spice."

Jacob's 3rd Birthday Party

I think that "little kid" birthdays are magical. I wish that my birthdays were still filled with the same magic that they were when I was little. Perhaps that's why I enjoy reliving birthdays through my kids. I must confess, that I had a little too much fun planning the favors and games for Jacob's "Zoo Party." Jacob loved the cake and his new toys. And in his polite manner, Jacob thanked all of his guests for "making his birthay so special." I made Jacob a monkey cake because he LOVES Curious George books. He also requested a that we have a pony at his party. I hope that he never finds out that the "pony" that I used for the "Pin the Tail" game was actually a donkey.

Woodland Park Zoo

Grandma Romney was here last Wednesday. We had an incredible day at the zoo. Jacob begged Grandma to stay move to Seattle; Grace wouldn't stop kissing her. After the Zoo, we went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Jacob talked Grandma into ordering him some cheesecake after dinner. He hasn't stopped talking about the cheesecake! Grace loves sitting at the table with us now. She is starting to feel "so big." Grace has even starting to eat "little" table food. What happened to my babies?!?

Ducks

Jacob's is currently obsessed with ducks. We look for a duck in every book we read and everywhere we go. Great Grandpa has a few baby ducks on his "farm," which Jacob has truly enjoyed. Since we're not close enough to see the baby ducks often enough, Jacob spends quite a bit of time harassing the ducks in our neighborhood. And every time, it's the same thing…he's absolutely disappointed that the ducks eventually fly away.

Our New Web Page

A good friend of mine has a blog, and she inspired me to get a blog too. I felt like this was a pretty easy to start a web page again, at least temporarily. Many of you have requested pictures and updates more frequently of Jacob, so I hope you enjoy! I would love to hear your comments too.

Love, Ruth Ann